


Remind Me

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: A Thousand Futures of Me and You [144]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Don't copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Insecurity, M/M, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 14:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18967492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: The press were going to find out eventually.





	Remind Me

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Tiếng Việt available: [Remind me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22973986) by [Kataly_Malfoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kataly_Malfoy/pseuds/Kataly_Malfoy)



   The nearly silent woosh of the door opening and the clicking of heel across the concrete heralded in Pepper’s arrival. Engrossed in the spirals of metal and the soothing smell of oil and grease, he paid her no mind, only glancing briefly down at the black heels that could be seen from under his car.

   He expected her usual greeting, a gruff acknowledgement before launching into business, but instead he was met with silence. That alone was enough to make him drop the wrench on the floor and use the momentum of framing to slide himself out from beneath it.

   He blinked up at her, taking in her tight expression, the slightly disheveled bun, the newspaper she held with a death grip. To anyone else, she would still be the professional put-together Pepper Potts, CEO and powerhouse of Stark Industries, but to him, her distress was all too clear.

   “What’s wrong?”

   She licked her lips, a nervous habit as she thrust the paper toward him, fingers trembling almost imperceptibly and that alone was enough to make Tony’s stomach tighten with unease, rarely ever seeing his wife in such a state.

   He took it, bracing himself for the worst, and shook it out, staring dumbfounded at the bold lettering across the entertainment section.

_Tony Stark Caught Cheating On His Wife_

   Beneath the font was a grainy picture of him and Stephen locked together in a sweet, passionate kiss. For a long moment he didn’t know what to think, his mind reeling from the fact that this trashy title was in an honest to god newspaper and not some flashy gossip magazine. Of course, it didn’t last long before anger began to simmer deep in his gut, expression clouding as he abruptly tore the paper in half and balled it up before chucking it across the room.

   Pepper watched quietly, her own fears on display, “we have to go talk to him now, before it blows up too big.”

   His jaw clenched as he stood slowly, trying to keep his emotions in check as he reached over to snag Pepper’s hand and squeeze it softly, “how bad?” he asked, unsure if he truly wanted to know.

   She took a shaky breath, “they haven’t identified him yet and I’ve already alerted legal but…well the usual suspects are already being hurled around.”

   Home wreaker, cheater, slut; Tony had heard them all and worse, had them hurled at him on more occasions then he could count. He hadn’t minded, not really, letting the sting of the words roll off his back…but Stephen wasn’t like that.

   No, their lover had specifically been trying to avoid this for the past nine months while their relationship bloomed delicately between the three of them. He and Pepper had promised to keep it quiet, to take precautions, to protect him from the limelight and their criticisms for both Stephen’s sake and Kamar-Taj.

   The failure grated in the worst kind of way.

   “Happy-”

   “Already here, waiting in the car for us.”

   Tony nodded, wiping his hands briefly on his shirt as he followed Pepper out the door, mindful to toss on a light jacket.

   The ride was nearly silent. Pepper sat close enough that their knees were touching but neither of them spoke, contemplating the heartbreak that might be waiting for them when they reached the Sanctum. He took a deep breath, trying to remember the breathing exercises Stephen had taught him and decidedly failing as his chest tightened.

   He couldn’t really imagine what life after Stephen could possibly look like. He and Pepper had been happy, there was no denying that but then they met him, and everything became vibrant, sharper as they slowly adjusted to one another and integrated into their lives.

   He wished he could say with certainty that this mistake, this blaring, painful mistake wouldn’t scare him off, wished he wasn’t wondering if this would be the last time, he could look upon his face with love and devotion. Except Tony wasn’t a fool and Stephen had been skittish enough to begin with when they started.

   The car slowed to a stop and he looked at Pepper who stared back with a weak smile, “its going to be alright.”

   He pretended her eyes weren’t glassy and simply stepped out.

\---

   They found him in the study, standing before the roaring fireplace with hunched shoulders and tension in his neck that revealed he already knew. They stood silent in the doorway and Tony was sure it must be a sight to behold, he and Pepper compliant and surrendering to the man they loved, just as the always had.

   “Sit.”

   His voice was quiet, rough. Tony couldn’t contain a wince as he followed Pepper to the sofa and sat next to her, eyes locked on Stephen. He wanted him to turn around, wanted to see what emotions brewed in those stormy eyes, wanted to pretend everything was alright.

   But it wasn’t. Everything that was happening made it clear that nothing was ok. They were in the sitting room, the formal sitting room. Stephen was dressed to the nines in his sorcerer garb. His voice was cold, devoid of all affection.

   Silence thickened between them, the path forward muddled and indistinguishable as they waited for Stephen to show them the way, just like he always had. Pepper’s hand slipped back into his, her bright eyes focused on him with so much emotion that it speared his heart.

   “I-” Stephen broke off, one of his familiar scarred hands reaching up to grip the mantle in front of him.

   Tony’s breath caught; Pepper tensed.

   “I’m sorry,” came that deep baritone, tired and a little broken. “I’m not angry.”

   The words should be a balm to the firestorm brewing inside him. All Tony felt was helpless.

   “We can do this,” Pepper murmured beside him, voice soft and lilting in the way that never failed to make both men bend to her will.

   A spell was broken, the tension shattering in the face of heartbreak as Stephen finally turned to face them. The sight of his face bloodied and bruised made Tony go deceptively still even as his spine straightened. His lip twitched, wanting to curve into a snarl at the injuries marring his usually pristine skin.

   There was a cut stretching across his cheek, crusted with dried blood, while bruising flourished in shades of blues and yellows that made him nauseas. If it were any other day, situation, he and Pepper would already be by his side, demanding to know what dimensional creature had done this to him.

   Tony wanted to scream.

   “I don’t know if I can,” Stephen confided, his eyes darting away, filled with uncertainty.

   “You can,” Pepper repeated more firmly. “Because we’ll be right beside you.”

   Stephen was looking at her, expression twisted and sad and Tony knew what thoughts must be flitting through his mind. Self-loathing for putting them through his indecision, guilt for their relationship entirely, fear so much fear at the thought of exposure to the world.

   “Do you love us?”

   The words echoed obscenely in the room. Tony couldn’t have tempered the harshness of his tone even if he tried, his own eyes glaring into Stephen’s, wilfully ignoring the darkness circling his lids.

   He waited. Pepper waited. Stephen stared back helplessly.

   It didn’t matter that only this morning, before Stephen left for another dimension, he had pressed a kiss to Pepper’s waiting lips before offering another to Tony. It didn’t matter last night they had been together, bodies tangling impossibly as they sought their pleasure. It didn’t matter that on his lunch break yesterday, Stephen had thumbed crumbs from Pepper’s mouth with a fond smile. It didn’t matter that ‘I love yous’ were murmured with exasperation on the phone. It didn’t matter that every beat in Tony’s chest was for the two people in this room.

   Stephen would say it if he wanted a clean break and Tony would pretend all those things hadn’t happened and do as he asked, even if it meant losing half of his heart in the process. Pepper’s nails digging into his palm revealed she felt the same way.

   “I love you, I have loved you, and I suspect I will always love you.”

   Pepper was standing instantly and striding over to Stephen, her arms coming up to tug him into a hard hug. Stephen’s head fell into her neck silently, his own long arms gripping her just as tightly and Tony wished he didn’t know just how close to the edge they had come.

   He stood more slowly, walking over to the pair and willing the stinging in his eyes to go away. Stephen lifted his head and that storm of emotion is still there, the fear most obviously and Tony had never hated his fame more. He cupped his jaw, watched Stephen lean into it, those eyes on him like they are looking for an anchor, and its surreal because that had always been Stephen for the three of them.

   “We’ll figure this out. Even if I have to buy every news agency in America.”

   That drew a weak chuckle and Pepper leaned back, her expression deadly serious, “trust me, we can afford it.”

   Stephen shook his head a bit, “it’s a lot, all of it. I don’t like the spotlight and I don’t want to be seen as-”

   He doesn’t need to explain but they let him talk it out. They listen as he voices his fears and worries, reassure where they can, make promises they can keep, offer support where its all they can do. They end up in Stephen’s king size four poster bed, with the tall sorcerer securely between them, bodies entangled so they did not know where one began and the other ended.

   Tony and Pepper murmured plans over his sleeping head, the determination in their gazes unmatchable. Their fingers absently twirled their wedding rings as they spoke, both of their minds casted back to the tower, where in one of Pepper’s drawers, there is an identical one just waiting to be united with its sisters.


End file.
